Blurred Lines
by Serendinfinity
Summary: What if Pepper's house disappeared in a fire? With nowhere else to go and a very pushy boss, she has to accept his proposition, stay with him at the Stark mansion. Set in between IM1 and 2.
1. Chapter 1

**Author notes : **

My 2nd fic! I don't know yet if I'm going to continue my first one or leave it at a one shot, however, this one will definitely have several chapters!

It's in between Iron Man 1 and the second movie and is a complete AU even if I may make some references to IM2 in future chapters.

I really hope you're going to enjoy this idea I had in my shower (lol). Comentaries and criticism (constructive, preferably) are very welcome since i'm a starter at writing fanfics.

I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, i'm French and i may lack vocabulary.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything Marvel related. This is for my own (and yours I hope) entertainement only)

* * *

Those meetings were boring and he didn't even understood why they were all making so much fuss about it. The communications experts had been talking for too long about how they should handle the situation. They had been sent by the board who was not entirely happy with his latest press conference. He cast a quick glance towards Pepper who was, as usual, taking notes about whatever those two guys were telling. She nodded and smiled to them and he turned his attention back to the meeting trying to pay as much attention as she was. It was a lost cause. He was bored and his mind was slowly drifting away. Pepper was mad at him too. Not mad enough to hurl something at him but she was… calm. And composed. And she wouldn't say anything to him other than his agenda for the day. He never paid much attention to her in all those years they worked together, he couldn't even remember her birthday or what she likes to eat or even her favorite color or music. But, he knew that when she was acting that way it meant she was mad. His 'I am Iron Man' stunt was not really appreciated by everyone in the conference room. At least the press enjoyed it.

"Do you think you are capable of that Mr Stark?" came a man voice. Tony blinked and straightened up in his chair. Capable of what?

"Yep. Sure!" he exclaimed. "Are we done?" he started to get up, wanting nothing more than to get rid of those two really annoying guys. Pepper's hand was on his arm in a second, stooping him from getting up and pushing him back into his seat. Tony sighed and ignored the comment of the older man. He had grey hair and looked like he was in his fifties. Tony guessed that this would be the kind of man who inspired respect and confidence to everyone but he wasn't impressed one bit, he was wearing a second hand suit, for sure. Or maybe not, but it wasn't couture. The other one was younger, probably mi-thirties, he hadn't spoken much since the beginning of the meeting but he looked very serious and concentrated. Then again, the older guy was speaking to him, explaining how he was supposed to lay low until everything calm down so that Stark Industries was not on the front page of every newspaper because of its eccentric boss. Tony's eyes widened. He said that, he actually said it without blinking and without fearing anything. This guy with this cheap suit was suddenly becoming more agreeable.

"What's your name again?" Tony asked, pointing his finger to him.

" Murphy. Georges Murphy."

"I like your bluntness Mr Murphy. However, I'm not good at…" A buzzing phone stopped him and he just had time to turn his head toward the noise to see Pepper's small hand shutting it down. She had let her phone on the table, as usual, in case something came up. "… not good at laying low" he continued as if nothing has happened. "And you know, I am Iron Man now and people are…" The buzzing came again and Tony's eyes went straight for the screen of Pepper's phone and the name written on it before she ended the call once again, apologizing in the process. "Who's Vicky?" he asked his PA. She looked at him with round eyes, obviously surprised by his question but just nodded her head towards Murphy, silently commanding him to go back to his work. Tony frowned and turned to Murphy. "Well let's just say people need me to be Iron Man, and I'm not going to lay low if there's a bank robbery or whatever so just drop… Oh God Pepper, answer that, this is driving me crazy, seriously." the phone had just came back to life again and Vicky's name was still written on the screen. Tony gave Pepper the same look she gave him a few seconds ago and she grabbed her phone, excusing herself as she got up to answer the phone outside of this room.

"What Vicky?! I'm in an important meeti…" Tony heard just before Pepper closed the door. He was still looking at the door when the younger man spoke.

"Mr Stark, the board has nothing to do with Iron Man…"

"Oh dear God you can speak!" Tony exclaimed, pointing to the man.

"… However, Stark Industries welfare and its reputation are their primary concern." The young man continued. Tony noticed for the first time he had curly hair, he cringed. That must be one hell of a mess every morning. "Being known as the enterprise of Iron Man and not as the greatest weapon manufacturer is not good."

"We're not doing weapons anymore." Tony cut sharply.

"Yeah. And you're not doing anything else, that's our problem." The two men eyed each other for several minutes until Murphy spoke up.

"Mr Stark," he started carefully "We just want you to do what's best in term of communication. We're dealing with the repercussions of your… announcement… And we need a strategic plan. We need something other than Iron Man to be all this company is about in the media."

"Honestly, I get why you work in the comm., you're good at this. But he…" Tony pointed to the thirty year old man "… is not good. You should fire him. Just saying."

"Mr Barnes is very sharp, Sir but…" They were cut by Pepper re-entering the conference room. She looked completely distressed and as soon as Tony laid eyes on her, he was on his feet and next to her.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. Her tearful eyes met his. Pepper never cried. She was the strongest person he knew, he didn't remember ever seeing her with tears in her eyes. And when she spoke, her voice was only a whisper.

"My house is burning down…" Tony's expression went from concerned to completely horrified and still, he couldn't utter a word of initiate a soothing gesture. He was lost in a sea of human emotions he wasn't used to.

"Oh my god" He heard Murphy say and the next thing he knew was being pushed out of the way by the other man, this Barnes he now despised, who put his hands on Pepper shoulders.

"Do you need a ride there?" he asked and then Tony's brain finally kicked in.

"I'll take her." His voice was low and stern. He shouldered Barnes to get him out of the way and met Pepper lost eyes again. She was doing anything in her power to fight the tears in her eyes. Tony put his right hand on her lower back and guided her out of the conference room. "Meeting adjourned. You can go back to New York gentlemen." He instructed as he exited the room with Pepper. They were sitting in his Audi in a matter of seconds and Tony sped them up towards her house. He had only been there once or twice but remembered the road correctly. Her house was in a nice and quiet neighborhood, far from the agitation of the town. He remembered it looked like a little cottage that would be on a beach, made of wood boards painted in white with this huge stairway getting to the porch and front door. It was in the middle of bushes and big trees and the first time he saw it he thought that this looked heavenly, in an old-fashioned way.

"What happened?" he broke the silence for the first time since they had left as he was rushing on the highway.

"I don't know. My neighbor just said that it was on fire and that the fire department was there and that's all." The both fell silent again and as Tony was taking the highway exit he heard her gasp. He quickly looked at her and followed her gaze to their right. In the distance, a thick black smoke was rising above the trees and houses. Tony pushed on the accelerator, shoving them both deeper into their seats.

When they arrived on Blossom Bend, Tony was struck by the amount of people in this small street. Pepper's home was towards the end of this little lane and hidden by the trees and other houses until the very last bend. When they took it, she gasped again and unfastened her seatbelt. Tony just had time to hit the breaks before she was out of the car. Her house was on fire, everything was burning down and some of the trees and the bushes around were also on fire. Numerous fire engines were already here and the firemen were doing everything they could to contain and extinguish this inferno. He heard Pepper screamed and ran after her as she was crossing the security line.

"Pepper don't!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her against him. His strong arms circled her and he pushed her back against his chest, trying to hold her still. Her body was shaking from tearless sobs and Tony felt powerless. He didn't know what to do or what to say to calm her down, he was never really good with soothing and comforting people, he always used some witty remarks to get out of situations he wasn't used to. He couldn't be witty right now, not when her home and her whole life was burning to the ground. After a few moments, they both heard Pepper's name being called not far from where they stood. Three women were heading their way, concern and sympathy all over their faces. One of them, a brunette who was wearing dark clothing and a dark red lipstick opened her arms and, much to Tony's disappointment, Pepper left his embrace to seek the comfort he couldn't give her with her friend.

"It's okay sweety… Shhh" The woman was gently stroking her back as Pepper was still looking at her burning house. The two others put comforting hands on her shoulders and Tony felt completely out of place. One of them finally took a look at him and extended her hand. She was as tall as Pepper and wore a pink cardigan. Her red hair was down and perfectly straight, as if she was just getting out of the hair-dresser.

"Hello, I'm Aubrey. I live right there." She moved her hand towards a lavender house only a few feets away. Tony noticed she had an accent but was not able to guess from where it was. "This is Regina…" she explained, nodding to the woman who was holding Pepper and giving a dark look. "… and Victoria." Vicky. He remembered the name on Pepper's phone. That last one was petite compared to Pepper, she had fair skin just like his PA and long, wavy, black hair. Tony just nodded and took Aubrey's hand.

"I'm Tony…"

"Stark. Yes. We know you." He was cut by the one holding Pepper. Usually, he would relish in the fact that he was recognized but this one was giving him such a dark look that he just couldn't enjoy his celebrity right now. Pepper straightened up from Regina's hold, still looking at her house.

"What happened?" she asked to no one in particular.

"We don't know yet. They didn't say anything." The smallest one started. "When I went jogging, everything was fine, but when I came back I saw flames inside. I called the fire services right away and then you."

Half an hour later, the firemen were able to put an end to the fire but the house was completely destroyed. Burned wood was all that seemed to be left. Eventually, Tony had left the ladies and used his notoriety and force of persuasion to have information from the chief of the fire department. He was just able to tell him that the fire was really important and that they didn't know yet what started it. Nothing was pointing to a criminal action anyway.

The chief then asked a few questions to Pepper like if she had lit any candles, or the stove, or let the flatiron switched on. She answered negatively to each of his questions. She had regained her composure and was again the Pepper Tony knew. She was positive everything was turned off when she left earlier and the firemen later revealed that nothing seemed to have caused the fire after they swept the house.

"Does this mean it's criminal?" Pepper enquired, she was looking to the firemen with shock all over her beautiful face and Tony stood closer to her.

"We don't know it yet"

"But since you found nothing that could have start that fire you think someone has started it." Tony said bluntly with a bit off anger in his voice. Pepper had no enemy, everyone loved her. She was smart, nice, funny, devoted. No one could do this to her. The simple thought of it made him want to punch something.

"It's a possibility." That last sentence hit her hard and that's when Pepper realized that she was completely lost. Tony could see it in her eyes.

"What am I going to do?" she murmured to herself when the firemen were gone.

"You can come to my place. Danny will be so happy if you stayed with us!" Regina assured. "The house is too big for just the two of us."

"And if you get bored of playing hide and seek with Danny you can always come back to the adult world and stay with us!" countered Vicky.

"Oh no, no… Thank you, but I can't…"

"Don't be silly Pepper." came Aubrey's voice. "That's what friends do."

"But with work and my schedule it's too complicated…" They all glanced at Tony who looked back at them in a nonchalant way. "I mean… I have so much to do and…" Obviously embarrassed, Pepper was trying to explain.

"Not my fault she's a workaholic!" Tony declared, raising both his hands to play the innocent card.

"Yeah." Pepper agreed "I'm a workaholic so with Danny, it would be impossible to work you know…" she explained to Regina before turning to Vicky. "And you're always complaining about Anton who is always working, so…"

"She has a point!" Tony added, not even sure who were Danny and Anton but acting as if he was aware of everything.

"Yeah and I wouldn't be a great company you know." Pepper was still talking to her dark haired friend as if Tony never interrupted. "And Aubrey, you have your whole family, there's no room. I'll… I'll find a way, I'll just…"

"Stay with me" Tony cut her off one last time, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Yeah…" Pepper started, out of habit and then she froze. "What?!" she turned her attention to Tony, processing what he just said. Her friends were silent, abashed by what just happened. One moment they were just talking, completing each other sentences and then the selfish Tony Stark had just offered his PA to stay at his place.

"Come on Pepper, you already spend 12 hours a day there, it won't be that much of a change." He was standing there, hands in his pocket, looking right at her with this casual attitude as if he just asked her to get him a hot-dog. She was dumbfounded and it took her a few moments to be able to react.

"No. Not a god idea…" she started when he interrupted her.

"Great idea! This way you will be able to do all your work…"

"No, Tony, I'm not going to…

"… without all the road, and you could rest by the pool…"

" …stay with you. I don't need a pool!"

"That's great! Done deal, let's get going" he clapped his hand and walked towards his car, leaving an exasperated Pepper behind.

"So… You weren't overstating it…" Aubrey said as she watched Tony get into his luxury car. "He really is…" she was fighting to find the appropriate word.

"Infuriating?" Regina suggested.

"Something." Aubrey finally replied, being more moderate than her friend.

"I really love his car… and his goatee…" Vicky let out with a dreamy tone.

"Vicky!" Aubrey's voice snapped her out of her reverie. They all knew Victoria had a soft spot for rich and powerful men, even if she was a happily married woman. After a few moments, Tony's voice came.

"Need I remind you that I also have very efficient fire extinguisher robots?" He smiled back at them while pushing up his sunglasses, he seemed proud of his little joke and even if the timing was terrible, Pepper could not be mad at him right now and she just smiled and shook her head. She approached the car.

"I could go to a hotel you know…"

"I'm not paying you so you can squander everything in hotel fees." He stated, looking at her through his glasses. "Now get in, we're going to call your insurance and everything back at my place." This was his final word. He would never admit it, even to himself but he didn't want to take any chances if the fire was indeed criminal. He couldn't let her alone somewhere with some strangers after what just happened. He needed to be sure she was safe, next to him, he wanted to protect her and much to his relief, she finally nodded her acceptance.

A few minutes later her friends had gather clothing, makeup and anything she would need for a few days before she was able to go and buy herself some stuff. As soon as it was loaded in the car, they were gone, heading towards the Stark mansion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author notes :**

Thank you for all the reviews/follow and favorites! This is really motivating and i'm so happy you like it. Here's the second chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as the firt one and let me know what you think of it!

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything Marvel related. This is for my own (and yours I hope) entertainement only)

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

When they arrived to the Stark Mansion after leaving Blossom Bend and Pepper's burnt house, she felt incredibly uncomfortable and out of place. She knew this house perfectly well and had spent a huge amount of time working from here or babysitting Tony in the last ten years she worked for him. But at that moment, when they parked in the workshop, everything seemed different. She was standing there, with Aubrey's bag in her hands that was full of clothes and stuff her three friends gave her and she felt like a hobo. The worst part was that it wasn't just a feeling, it was the truth, she was homeless, she didn't have any clothes left, or shoes or underwear. She didn't even had a toothbrush.

"Jarvis, get Frances over here. I need her to prep the guest room." Tony called to his AI as he got out of the car. He hadn't noticed the turmoil that was suddenly hitting his PA as she realized the extent of the recent events on her life. Tony never noticed anything anyway, she thought, sounding bitter even in her own mind. The name of his maid brought Pepper some comfort nonetheless. Frances was even more organized than her, she had worked for the Stark family for thirty years, knew Tony since he was just a child and always had two sets of everything, just in case. Meaning that there was probably a toothbrush for Pepper somewhere.

"No Tony, no need to bother Frances and get her over here, I can…" she started but was soon cut off by Tony who was already sitting at his desk where his Iron Man face plate was laying.

"I don't know where she keeps the sheets." He explained.

"I know where they are." She had a small smile, amused by his lack of knowledge about where things were in his own house and he looked at her like she was clairvoyant.

"You're good! Because I really don't understand how this woman works. She has all those weird habits about how to tidy up things… I don't get it, she must have OCD or something."

"The sheets are in the closet in the laundry room." She stated.

"I never go over there, so…" Tony always had to justify himself, the man couldn't be wrong, ever. Pepper sighed and exited the workshop to head towards the guest room that would become her room for some time.

While they were in the car, Tony had insisted that she stopped everything company related to deal with the insurance and the police and fire experts and all that boring stuff for the day. So that's what she did as soon as she entered the room. For the first time, she hadn't argued on the fact that she had a lot of work to deal with and she sat in this big room, making calls after calls and trying to sort this out. She always liked this room, maybe because it was different from the rest of the house, less uncluttered and with that feminine touch that was always missing in the rest of the mansion. The light yellow walls always gave her the impression of a sunrise, that why she called this place the dawn room. And there was this exceptional butterfly artwork by Paul Villinsky she had Tony bought a few years ago. She literally fell in love with it and if she had had the money back at the time she would had bought it for herself. She was still glad that it was in the dawn room rather than somewhere else, it fitted right in there.

Frances arrived about twenty minutes after Tony had Jarvis called her and Pepper let her make her bed, knowing the woman was only too happy to do it and wouldn't let her help anyway. That petite woman was a force of nature. She was around sixty years old with curly hair always in a neat bun and was as dynamic as a twenty years old. She always knew how to deal with Tony and was never afraid to tell him what she thought about his lifestyle. Before Pepper, she was the one who escorted his one night stands outside. And then, one day, she became sick of it and Tony had to spend the entire morning with a girl because Frances hadn't showed up. According to him, he was still traumatized by that.

"Do you want a sandwich?" Frances asked gently when Pepper hung her phone for the millionth time. She was done with the bed and had put all of her borrowed clothing and cosmetics in the closet and the bathroom cupboard.

"No thank you Frances, I'm not hungry." She sighed and the old woman came to take a seat next to her.

"No good news?"

"Apparently, it's going to take at least a week for the expert's assessment and then at least one month and a half before the house could be habitable. No finished, just habitable." The strawberry blonde ran her hand through her hair and groaned. "God, this is a living hell."

"Come. I'll make you a tea."

* * *

There were sitting on the kitchen bar stool, both sipping their tea while chatting lightly when Tony arrived from his workshop. Pepper hadn't seen him since they arrived several hours ago.

"Hey Frances, where's my sandwich? I'm hungry." He grumped as he opened the fridge, obviously hoping to find a sandwich waiting for him.

"You had one two hours ago, now is not the time. Dinner is in one hour." Pepper hid a chuckle in her mug, Frances was always mothering Tony with this firm tone.

"So what are you doing sitting down and drinking tea? Make us dinner, you don't want my guest to have to order Chinese take out right?"

"Tony!" Pepper interjected.

"What? You want Chinese?" he replied naturally. "cause I don't mind Chinese, you two are always the ones to complain about my eating habits." Pepper shook her head and Frances got up from her stool to head towards the fridge, muttering something neither of them caught.

"And stop mumbling!" Tony warned as if he was reprimanding a disobedient child. "So?" he took Frances place on the stool next to Pepper and looked at her expectantly.

"At least a week for the experts and a month and a half before I can go back there and not live in complete chaos."

"You can stay as long as you want." He replied before taking a sip from Frances mug. "Ergh! That's disgusting! How can you even drink that?" He took a look inside the cup and groaned.

"Thank you, but I'll be gone by the end of the week." Pepper said, ignoring his remark about tea.

"Seriously that tastes like herbs and… The end of the week? That's in two days, what's the rush? You don't like the room?" he then turned to Frances who was cutting some vegetables. "She doesn't like the room. I told you those colors were awful, yellow and green, seriously! And what are you doing with those green…" he frowned as he searched for the right adjective to describe the vegetables.

"No it's not the room." Pepper said "I really love that room, the colors are great. And that's a cucumber, stop acting like a child." She rolled her eyes when he scowled at the sight of the vegetable. "The thing is, I can't stay here that long. I don't want to be a burden and you're my boss, it's inappropriate." Her voice rose at the end when she saw Tony was about to reply she was not a burden, or at least she guessed that was what he wanted to say.

"You're thinking too much. And I'll fire you if you check in a hotel. Or I'll have them refuse you, I can do both." He shrugged as he got up to supervise Frances' cooking. This woman was an extraordinary cook but Tony always had a problem with the way food was made.

"You can't fire me." Pepper replied calmly.

"Because of the social security number?" he asked as he looked up towards her. "True, but I can have them not accept you."

"You wouldn't do that."

"Try me." They looked at each other for several moments without talking. He had a defiant look on his face and she was starting to get mad at him. She was mentally shooting him with her bright blue eyes and the bullets were rolling onto him as if his smug smile was acting like his suit. Finally, she broke eye contact, sighed and left the room to get her laptop in order to have some work done even if this was technically a day off. This was her escape, the only one she knew when she was too annoyed of confused by Tony, his cocky attitude and his intense gaze. She hated the way he could make her feel sometimes, it was like she wasn't controlling anything anymore. About an hour later, Jarvis informed her that dinner was ready and when she entered the living room she only saw Tony, sitting in a chair in the dining area, already enjoying the meal.

"Where's Frances?" she inquired while taking a seat as well.

"Went home" he let out between two bites. "It's actually good." He said, pointing to the slices of cucumber in his plate. Pepper let out a laugh and they dined speaking of her house, the experts and the construction workers. Tony said that he would have them work faster if it would make her feel better and it did, even if she didn't like it when he used his celebrity to have things done. After dinner, tiredness caught with her pretty fast. Her day had been extremely tough on a psychological level and while Tony returned to his workshop, she went back to the dawn room and opened the drawers to find sleepwear.

"What the…" she gasped when she laid her eyes on a sheer light blue négligé with a turquoise silky lace going around the top of the fabric. She took it to get a better look and let if fall on the bed as if she had been burnt by it. She took her phone right away and waited for the culprit to answer while pacing in the room.

"You have to be kidding me!" she spat when the other person picked up the line.

"Don't know what you're talking about…" Vicky replied evasively though she knew perfectly well her friend had found her blue nighty. The one that made Anton nuts everytime she was wearing it. She thought she was doing her a favor, but Pepper never thought like normal people should. So, Vicky endured silently her reproaches, paying more attention to her freshly painted nails than to her friend distress.

* * *

Tony wasn't really the ideal host. With Pepper in his house, he didn't how to act around her so he just kept on doing what he does, spending his day in the workshop. Though he would have liked to be with her, to comfort her, he just had no idea how to do it and he just hid in his man cave tinkering on his suit and his car. That's when he saw it. Dropped on the floor, with the pen fixed between its rings. Her notebook. The one she had during the meeting. He picked it up and recognized her handwriting on every darkened pages. This woman could write a book about communication with all those notes. She must have dropped it when they got out of the car and Tony knew she would go insane if she didn't have it so he made his way up, heading towards the yellowish room he had let Frances decorate. He was about to come in unannounced when he stopped himself, his hand was already on the handle but his conscious had awoken out of nowhere and instead of coming in he decided he should knock. And, those few seconds he stood there pondering what to do were enough for him to hear something he later would wished to never have heard.

"Are you insane? It's my boss!" Pepper insisted on the last word. "I'm sleeping in my boss' house and as if this wasn't inappropriate enough you pack a see-through nightie for me to sleep in." Tony almost choked at hearing that and it reminded him of feelings he had once before, the night he saw her naked back in that amazing dress. Shaking his head to get rid of those flashes of bare back and fantasies of sheer fabric on Pepper, he almost ran back to his work shop and dropped the notebook on his desk.

"God." He took a deep breath, trying to forget about the fact that Pepper was probably going to wear some sexy see-through nightie. He secretly hoped it was short, he just loved her legs, they were so long, so thin and her pale skin seemed so soft. So much like the skin of her back and he had touched her back bare, it was an enchantment. He remembered everything about that night, their dance, their small talk, her beautiful bright eyes, the fabric of her dress, her intoxicating smell, the little flush on her cheeks when he was staring at her and their almost kiss. When he freaked out and couldn't close that small gap between them, what a jerk. How he had regretted not to kiss her that night. And now, those little harmless words he heard behind the door were completely messing with his head and he wanted only one thing, to see her in that thing and to kiss her. Hard.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, Sir?" Tony ran a hand on his face.

"Give me live stream of the guestroom." He let out, eyes closed.

"Sir, Miss Potts is actually in that room…"

"Yes, I know." He cut off his AI in a sharp tone. He knew that perfectly well and that was actually the reason of his demand. He had cameras installed in all the rooms several years ago, just in case. After all, he was building weapons and his guard less mansion was probably tempting to every thug. He never looked at any footage, ever. Never needed it. The cameras were just useful in case of break ins and most of the people who came in here had forgotten they were even there.

"Sir, I have to say it is highly inappropriate…"

"Will you all stop with this word!" he spat. It was the third time he had heard it today. He was starting to get angry. At Jarvis for not complying immediately, and at himself for being utterly unable to resist the urge to see her half naked against her will. "Now Jarvis!" he ordered and the images were on his screen the next second. Her back was half turned to the camera and he could see her left profile. She looked exasperated and tossed her phone on the bed, right next to it. His heart stopped for a moment. The nightdress was actually more of a négligé, something you would wear above you underwear to drive a man crazy and without anything under it to send him over the top. The sight of Pepper next to this small piece of fabric had serious repercussions on his body and he suddenly felt like he needed a cold shower. A really cold one. He was going to explode and he cursed under his breath when she took off her jacket and started to unbuttoned her blouse. He was like a vicious voyeur.

"Turn it off, Jarvis! Turn it off" he screamed, closing his eyes and turning his back to the screen. His hands went to his face, covering his eyes as if he had been burnt by what he saw. This was so wrong. He would have loved this show a few months back, he would even had several girls do it privately for him with or without cameras. But that was before and this wasn't any random girl.

"Get the suit ready Jarvis, I need air."

* * *

When he got back home, it was almost 2 am. He had flown over the city and made a halt on the highest cliff to breathe fresh hair. That calmed him down a little. He didn't feel constricted in his pants anymore and the thought of Pepper in that blue nightwear had somehow left him. Once he was out of the suit, he went up the stairs to get a drink and go to sleep. This day had him completely exhausted. There was a small light in the kitchen and he could see the shadow of a feminine silhouette he would recognize anywhere. He prayed for her to wear the blue nightie, he prayed for her not to wear it because he knew he wouldn't resist her like that but he also prayed to see her gorgeous body in it and when she came to sight, his mouth went dry. Their eyes locked, she seemed shocked to see him and embarrassment was written all over her face. But she looked radiant. She wasn't wearing the blue nightie and he was happy about it in a way. She had a grey tank top with matching striped shorts. It took him all his strength not to look at her bare legs.

"Cute PJs." He couldn't help it and it was out before he could stop it. She got even more embarrassed, he could see the flash of red on her cheeks even in the dim lightning as she lowered her gaze. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked with a smile while pouring himself a glass of water. He noticed another clean glass was on the sink and guessed she came in here to drink as well.

"No. Were you still working?"

"Yep." He lied "I made some upgrades on the suit and went out for a small spin." She nodded with a shy smile and started to head back to her room.

"Hey Pepper," Tony heard himself calling. She turned back to him. "Good night." She smiled.

"Good night Tony."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author notes :**

Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I was never really happy with it :-/ But here it is, and I hope you'll like it.

Thank you for all the reviews/follows and favorites! You really are the best readers!

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything Marvel related. This is for my own (and yours I hope) entertainement only)

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

The next day, Pepper awoke to Jarvis usual voice at 7 am. He told her the weather was nice and warm with a light breeze coming from the ocean. The surf conditions were ideal even if she never cared about that information. The night had been short, but she felt completely rested when she got out of the shower. The bed here was really comfy, probably more than her own bed which didn't even exist anymore. She sighed at the thought of everything she would have to buy again, bed, couch, table, chair, tv, fridge… In addition to the reconstruction of her house. This would ruin her, she was lucky to have a substantial pay at the end of the month. Until now, she was able to save a fair amount each month without refusing herself some treats. Pepper loved shoes, fashion and beauty products, all of them preferably expensive. She had a soft spot for Louboutin shoes which were so comfortable and feminine, Diane von Furstenberg clothing which perfectly matched her business style and all kind of beauty creams and makeup from Estée Lauder to Lancôme to take care of her sensitive skin. She would have to deny herself all of that for a few months and buy her mascara at the mall. Opening the top drawer of the closet, she was facing her friends' clothes and underwear. She made a mental note to take the time to go and buy some underwear that day, she just couldn't wear other people panties and bra without feeling ill at ease, but until then, this would have to do. As she was finishing her makeup, her phone rang. The day before, it had been quiet all day, like everybody at Stark industries or working with Stark Industries knew Tony Stark's PA had a lot on her plate. But that was yesterday and the marketing service had been silent long enough…

"Mr Flanaghan, hi! How can I help you?" she was always good at putting a smile on her face and a cheerful tone even if she was already annoyed. The conversation went on for several minutes and when she hung up, sighing and trying to find a strategy to have Tony do what she needed him to do, her phone rang again. She took a look at the caller id and scowled. Barnes from Communication. This was not going to be pleasant.

Two hours later she had to deal with several phone calls and e-mails, Tony's agenda was completely full and she knew he would hate that and ditch everything she had arrange in the last couple of hours. She had Jarvis wake him up twice and apparently it failed. She was drinking her third cup of coffee and answering another e-mail when she saw it was already 9:30 pm.

"God!" she muttered to herself. "Jarvis! Turn this stupid music of his on to the highest volume and get him down here now!"

"Mr Stark just got up, Ms. Potts." The AI replied. "He is currently taking a shower."

"At last." She sighed. "Get him to wear a suit. And a real one. Not the Iron Man suit. I'll pick up the tie when he's dressed." Her fingers were furiously taping on the computer when a call came in and froze everything she was doing. His name and picture were on the screen.

"Why are you hustling me like that? Give me some time to wake up." She could hear the water running behind his voice. She got up from her seat and poured him a cup a coffee.

"Because we're late. Hurry up, we have an appointment at ten. Coffee's ready." She let down the mug on the marble tile with a loud bang so he could hear it.

"Hum… I want a skinny mocha from Starbucks today." The water stopped on the other end of the line and Pepper rolled her eyes.

"No. We don't have time to go to Starbucks. You'll have to do with the Pepper's latte waiting for you downstairs." She took milk from the fridge and poured it down into the mug. He would not notice it was cold milk, she knew he was just being demanding to annoy her.

"If you make it skinny you have a deal" she could see the smirk on his face just by hearing his voice.

"Hurry!" she ended the call and shook her head with an amused smile. She hated to admit it but she had grown to like the way he was always bantering with her even if she ignored those remarks most of the time.

* * *

She didn't know how she did it, but she was able to get him to a meeting with Flanaghan from marketing with only 30 minutes behind schedule. Tony kept on insisting that Iron Man should be the new face of Stark Industries and Flanaghan kept on refusing it and asking for things people would actually buy. At the end, it all came down to the same problem, what would Stark Industries be about now? Tony didn't know, didn't care he just wanted to go back home to play with his suit and Pepper had to run everything and promise everyone that in a few days there would be a new course of action. When they returned home it was well past midday and Tony had Happy stop for cheeseburgers. Pepper was amazed by his ability to always be hungry when he was bored and to completely forget about eating when he was in his workshop.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" she exclaimed when Tony took the direction of his man cave. "You're going down there!" He looked at her with a skeptic look, as if he knew what was coming. He started to open his mouth to reply but Pepper didn't let him the time to do so. "You need to think about what you're going to do with the company. Seriously!" He sighed and closed his eyes, he was starting to get really tired with everyone telling him that but she didn't care.

"Why don't you think about it?" he pointed to her to emphasize the 'you' and she looked at him with round eyes.

"What? Tony, it's not my company! Not my job to decide what it's going to do. You're the one who chose to stop weapons manufac…"

"Oh please don't start with that. You know why I did it and you were perfectly fine with it"

"I am! But…"

"No buts. Stark Industries is about me." She frowned and shook her head in disbelief at his narcissism, sometimes he really was infuriating. "I am all about science and advanced robotics, so that will be the new course of action. Happy?" he snapped, turning back towards the stairs.

"You know that doesn't give me anything to…"

"Don't care, work with that!" he yelled from downstairs and Pepper had no choice but to, indeed, work with that. And she did for the rest of the day. When she next took a look at her watch it was already 6 pm and she jumped from her seat, remembering she wanted to go and buy some underwear so she could return her friends' possessions. She would make a quick stop and bring back some Chinese take out or something like that since Frances didn't come today. Knowing Tony, she knew the fridge would be empty. Usually, Frances was the one to buy and bring the groceries she needed.

"Jarvis, tell Mr. Stark I'm heading out for a few…"

"Where are you going?" Tony's voice made her jump and she dropped her bag on the floor. He just giggled, apparently pleased to have startle her and she sighed.

"You scared me." She admitted while gathering her things on the floor to put them back in her bag. "I'm going to run a few errands and return with dinner."

"What kind of errands?" She looked at him, quite astounded. It didn't happen a lot, but sometimes he was really curious and pushy.

"Clothing." She answered, pushing her bag on her shoulder and starting to walk towards the door.

"You have clothes." He said when she walked past him. "You're wearing them right now, they look nice. You look nice." He was leaning against the wall and scrutinizing her. She felt almost naked under his gaze and chose not to pay attention to the compliment he just gave her because she knew her cheeks were probably starting to get pinker.

"For some clothes, you just need your own, Tony." And with that she left, leaving him to ponder what she meant behind that last sentence. And he did until her return.

* * *

It had never really been in his nature to be curious. He was too self-absorbed to have any interest into something that didn't have a direct link with him. He was curious about science, mechanics, sex but never about people. He just didn't care about others. Until recently. He wondered about things that had nothing to do with mechanics or science and it was driving him completely crazy since he didn't understand any of it. After all, he was a genius but when it came to social relationships he was clueless. That was extremely frustrating. He wanted to ask her so many questions, like to whom the blue nightie belonged to but he wasn't supposed to know about that. He wanted to ask her about her friends, about the small brunette called Vicky he was sure to have seen somewhere before, about the names he heard without being able to put a face on it like Danny or Anton. He clearly remembered hearing that Danny will be thrilled to have Pepper and he seriously hoped he wasn't some hormonal teenager with an infatuation on her or worse an unfaithful husband. He hoped he was a kid. Kids were cute. Actually no, they weren't cute they were always requesting attention and people would gladly gave them because of their nice, round faces. All this wondering was driving him crazy. And as she was going out she had to give him another thing to question himself about. He hated riddles. Algorithms were far more fun and at least they made sense to him. When he heard her car he was getting pretty hungry and took a look at his Bulgari watch. It was past 8.30 pm. He jumped down his stool and made his way upstairs.

"How was it?" Pepper started when she heard his voice. She was emptying a bag of food, apparently Chinese on the counter and didn't hear him coming from the staircase.

"What?" she asked, frowning but still emptying the bag.

"Your shopping." He came closer and took a box of Chinese noodles. As he started to eat, a pink stripped bag behind Pepper's purse on the couch caught his attention.

"Oh. Very nice. Thank you. Use the fork." She handed him one. He was struggling with his chopsticks and she repressed a smile. He always noticed how she didn't openly make fun of him but had this small, amused smile everytime.

"What did you get?" Here was the curiosity again. That was unlike him, he didn't care what she bought before, he didn't even used to ask her about the birthday present she bought herself for him. He didn't care. Until the dress. He couldn't have picked a better present and now that he knew she bought stuff like that thinking of it as his present he was getting curious. And she noticed. He noticed she noticed he was curious and that was unlike him. Her cheeks were pinker. She looked adorable.

"Oh nothing much…" she started, being evasive. "Just some essential stuff…" she shrugged and put a box in the microwave. Tony's eyes were on the small pink stripped bag that was a bit larger than her purse, trying to guess what could be inside. "I'm going to put that away…" Pepper continued, moving towards the couch to retrieve her purse and the bag and disappearing in the hallway. Then it hit him. He almost choked on his food as he realized why this bag looked so familiar, he dated (if we could say that) every model there, he knew these pink striped perfectly well. Victoria's Secret. She went to Victoria's Secret. She went to buy lingerie. The type of clothing you need your own. Of course. Now this riddle looked as clear as an algorithm, but maybe, just maybe, he was better not knowing that. Because right now his curiosity was starting to get to the same level it went last night. And that wasn't one of his finest hour. He let out a loud, frustrated grunt.

"The noodles don't taste good?" she asked. He didn't hear her coming back. She had left her heels in her bedroom, he instantly noticed that.

"They're… hot." he replied, discreetly eyeing her long legs. They sure didn't need heels to be breathtaking. He put another fork of noodles in his mouth to distract him from her slim silhouette going around in the kitchen in hot VS lingerie. "So, who's Danny?" he let out abruptly, changing the subject of his thoughts to something less disturbing. Pepper eyed him, obviously surprised by his question. He really did have a problem with his curiosity regarding his PA. He knew her for something like ten years and never got any interest in her on a private level. He always thought the freckles were cute, that she had beautiful eyes, a ravishing smile and a gorgeous body hidden under those strict clothes of hers. He also always knew she was really smart but had no idea where she went to college. After Afghanistan, he saw her in a new light, maybe because he had grown up a bit and took responsibilities. The night of the benefit he had been completely hypnotized and since then it always replayed in his mind, he found himself remembering that night, wishing it would have gone otherwise, wanting to know more about her but Pepper was always business, he had to take on the opportunity of having her here.

"He's Regina's son. Daniel, he's 9." She explained, taking her box from the microwave and starting to eat it.

"She's the one who was hugging you, right?" He knew that already, he had memorized their faces and names, he just asked to look like his old-self, the Tony not remembering any details. Pepper nodded. "She doesn't seem to like me. What have you told her?' he accused with a smile. Pepper blushed instantly and turned to him.

"Nothing!" He knew she was lying. "And it's not that she doesn't like you, Regina is very distrustful and she can be a bit harsh and judgmental…"

"So she criticized me." Pepper sighed, it was not worth lying for, he would not let it go.

"Maybe…" she replied, evasively.

"Did she or didn't she?" Tony pushed for a straight answer.

"Why does it matter to you anyway? You don't care about people." She stated without looking at him. She was right, he didn't. But he didn't like the fact that this woman was criticizing him in front of Pepper. Weirdly, he wanted her friends to like him… However he did not tell her that and just shrugged.

"Where is she from? She looks Mexican or something." He couldn't stop the questions flowing out of his mouth now, he wasn't even trying anymore. She had stop giving him weird looks and was eating her fried rice as if she was just hanging with her friends and not her boss.

"She's Porto-Rican."

"And what about the red-head? She has an accent.'

"Irish."

"Oh, does she have good beer?" Pepper looked up from her box with a warning look.

"No. Aubrey doesn't like beer. She thinks it's gross and fattening."

"I can't agree with that." Tony frowned.

"I'm sure you can't." she replied with the small smile he loved. The one she had when she was making fun of him without really doing it.

"And the last one? The one who called you."

"Vicky?"

"Yep."

"What about her?" he saw her tense but did not get why.

"I think I saw her once. Did she come by Stark Industries before?"

"No. But she was a model." Tony's eyes went round with recognition but Pepper was deliberately not looking at him as if her rice was suddenly the most interesting thing in this room. Tony always had a soft spot for model, of course he knew her. He remembered seeing her on magazines and tabloids and being interested to get her in his bed but he was positive they never met before so why was Pepper so ill at ease all of the sudden? If her friend and neighbor had been one of his prior mistresses that would be awkward, but she was not so there was obviously no problem here. It seemed he was missing a strategic number in this algorithm though.

"Why did she stop?" Pepper shifted on her sit and was playing with something in the box with her chopsticks.

"She got married." She shrugged.

"And why is that a career stopper?" he asked with disbelief in his voice. He was completely oblivious to the fact Pepper was getting more and more annoyed by this conversation. Her body language spoke tones but Tony was not the most observant of people so he kept on pushing it. "I mean she was good." Pepper's eyes left her rice box and focused on him in a indefinable way. It was like she was throwing daggers at him and hiding it at the same time. He swallowed his mouthful of pastas and went on, trying to ease the situation. He was not a keen observer but he knew this was going down. "I mean, now that you told me she was a model I remember seeing her on one or two covers…" he said as he moved his hand to appear casual.

"Oh I know what you mean." Her tone was sharp and he cringed. "I've got an idea for you," she got up from her seat and threw her unfinished box in the bin. "Why don't you think about something to do with your company, like an expo or whatever you feel like doing with it instead of going after one of my married friends."

"What?" he exclaimed, finally getting the missing data. "I'm not going after… That's not what I meant!" he screamed to her back but she was already gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author notes :**

Thank you all for the reviews/follow and favorites! I'm so glad to see you're keeping up and enjoying this!

Here's chapter 4, necessary for the rest of the story (plot and character's evolution). Enjoy!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything Marvel related. This is for my own (and yours I hope) entertainement only)

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

He didn't see her for the rest of the night. She disappeared in her bedroom and only came out of there the next morning as if nothing had happened. He never thought she could misread his intentions like that. Not that he had any intentions at all, he was just being curious about her and her life and she concluded he was in to one of her friend, or maybe the three of them since he asked about them all. He guessed she had every right to think that, if he had met them before he would probably have been attracted by Vicky. Former model, that was his type, but not anymore. He could not deny that she was beautiful, he was still a man and models were his Achille's heel. And there was Pepper. She was beautiful too, even more. He had been frustrated by her all business attitude since the benefit where they almost kissed and was started to move over that, to pushed it aside since she had shown zero interest in getting back where they left and completely ignored his flirtatious way. Maybe she was playing hard to get, but Tony had found out he respected her too much to deal with this like it was a game. So he had dropped it. But now that she was at his home, living there, buying and wearing Victoria's secret lingerie, it all came back to hit him hard. He didn't know what it was, he wasn't used to feel anything like that. It was not just attraction and desire. It was not just some sexual tension getting thicker between the two of them, he wasn't even sure she felt that but he did. He couldn't name it, and that was driving him mad. He wondered if maybe she wasn't angry about the fact she thought he was going after Vicky but because, deep down, a part of her was jealous. Could it be? He was hoping it was. That would give him a sign that she is not all business, that it's not just some one way attraction. She was so difficult to read and understand.

"Oprah wants you on her show…" She was wearing a black dress that fitted perfectly. Tony was amazed that other people clothes fitted her so well, it was as if it was made for her. He couldn't help but wonder if she was wearing what she bought the previous day. "… up to you. So, yes or no?" her voice stopped and he came back to reality as if he just woke up from being lulled by her voice.

"What?" She sighed and rolled her eyes, obviously exasperated that he did not pay any attention to what she was saying. Tony's eyes met Frances' who was cleaning up the kitchen and she was looking reprovingly at him. He frowned at her, she always had been on Pepper's side, some sisterhood thing he would not understand, the older woman said. "I mean no! I'm not doing Oprah." he rushed and Pepper stared at him, surprised.

"You're not?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"It's… hum… unlike you. Not wanting to show off on a talk show…" she shrugged.

"Well you told me I should lay low after the press conference, so…"

"And now you're listening to me?" she cut. She got him, he had nothing to say to that and just stayed silent while sipping on his coffee. She was still mad at him for last night and he knew the only way for her to calm down was if he behaved, so that's what he did for the next thirty minutes, listening to her telling him they would have to meet with the budget guys and that Senator Stern and the government were going to investigate on the suit. That should have caught his attention but he was too busy staring at her while she read from her notebook.

"You know, I did what you asked last night." He started, closing the government topic. Pepper raised her head to look at him, she was suspicious but he could swear that this light in her eyes was her curiosity.

"And what did I asked you to do?" She crossed her legs and arms on her chest, waiting for something that was certainly not what he was going to say.

"I thought about the company, what I wanted to do with it." She was surprised. He could tell thanks to her round eyes, she wasn't expecting that. "And actually your idea was good."

"My… My idea?" she asked with disbelief.

"An expo." She let out a quick laugh, a lovely sound he noticed, hoping he was kidding. But Tony was dead serious.

"Tony," her tone was solemn, "I was kidding when I threw this idea, which wasn't even an idea."

"But it's a great one."

"No, it's not. It was to trigger a reaction from you, not for you to take seriou…"

"Here's your reaction, we'll focus on making a huge expo. The Stark expo, like my father did back at the time."

"Tony, this is not what I meant by figuring out what the company is going to do next. We need to build and sell something!"

"We're going to build the expo and sell the tickets. It will all be about science and advanced technologies, people are gonna lo…"

"And what do you intend to expose there? You don't have any weapons left, you just have an arc reactor you don't want anyone to take a look at and an iron suit…"

"Gold titanium alloy." Tony corrected but Pepper didn't even stop her monologue.

"…That doesn't make an expo! You need to invent and build things that people would want to see and buy…"

"Okay, so let's say every scientist, mechanic, technician or whatever on this planet can expose at my expo! See, plenty of stuff this way. We need to make it last so all of that can be exposed…" His brain was on lockdown, everything Pepper said was just washing over him, not even entering his ears. He was picturing, analyzing, thinking, organizing, this expo would be awesome.

"No, no, no, Tony, that's insane…"

"… The Chinese got some heavy stuff, we can't invite them all, they're gonna steal the spotlight…"

"Tony!" she grabbed his chin to make him stop rambling and leaned towards him so she could look at him straight in the eyes. "This is crazy." She pronounced each words very clearly so he could understand she meant it. He didn't pay any attention to her words, a fruity fragrance came to his nostrils and that was the only thing his mind could focus on.

"Did you change your perfume?" Pepper frowned, letting go of his chin. "Of course you did!" Her own perfume disappeared in a fire, of course she had to change it, she was probably wearing one of her friends. Usually, she smelled like flowers. "I prefer the old one." Pepper sighed and leaned back in her chair. "We could go buy you your old one this week end if you want" Tony suggested and Pepper got up.

"No, thank you. I'll be gone by then."

Tony almost fell down his chair and turned around to look at her as she made her way towards her computer.

"What do you mean gone?" Worry could be heard in his voice, he was sure she noticed that but she didn't show it, she didn't show anything apart from her usual professionalism. She was typing on her computer and he just wanted to throw the damn thing on the nearest wall so she would look at him.

"I told you I'd be gone by the end of the week" she simply replied, still not looking at him.

"Yeah, and I thought we settled that you would stay here." His tone was sharp and her eyes left the screen for a second to focus on him.

"I never agreed on anything like that."

* * *

This expo idea was completely insane but she knew he would not drop it until she proved to him it was completely impossible to organize. Looking into the Stark Industries archives was supposed to help her prove that. After all, this expo only happened once, his father probably ran into some trouble she could raise to help her case. Dropping the bomb of her departure was not supposed to have happened during this conversation but he went for it and at least he was not thinking of this stupid expo for now. His tone was equal, a bit sharp because he never liked when people didn't do what he asked. He wanted her to stay for whatever twisted reason he had but she couldn't. After last night, she realized it would be highly inappropriate and it would complicate things. A lot.

She was not jealous. She had no right and no reason to be but the way he asked about Vicky last night had knotted something in her stomach. She used to be a model, he used to sleep with every model he met, but this one was married and one of her best friend. She was off limits. But who could stop Tony Stark when he had something in mind? It wasn't jealousy, it was merely respect for the marriage institution and wanting to protect her friendship with Vicky. However, the knot in her stomach didn't go away and she kept trying to convince herself that she was just thinking about her friend and her marriage and not about her and how she felt. It was pointless though because she knew Vicky would never cheat on her husband. And then Pepper was left to face the truth, maybe she was jealous. Maybe she didn't like him ogling women like he used to before Afghanistan. Maybe she started to think that after their moment at the benefit and the lack of random women in his bed, he had changed. Maybe she was hoping he would keep on flirting with her and finally prove she could trust him and fulfill his wish of a super-hero girlfriend. She knew it was wrong and she hated herself for even thinking all those things. That's why she had to leave this place. She was already spending too much time there with work and look where it got her. Having some kind of infatuation towards her boss which was completely inappropriate and dangerous.

"Yeah, and I thought we settled that you would stay here." Her eyes left her laptop to focus on him. He was standing up, looking grave, as if someone was taking his favorite toy away from him. Because that's what she was, just a toy.

"I never agreed on anything like that." He voice was steady despite her intern turmoil. She didn't want to stay at Aubrey's, she was always cleaning everything and her house looked like a museum. She didn't want to stay with Vicky either, Anton and her were spending their life fighting and having make-up sex. That was fun talking about around tea or coffee but she didn't want to actually witness that. Regina's place would be her first choice but Danny, as sweet as he was, would constantly be after her for a game, a story or anything else. She would not have any work done over there. The Stark villa was quiet. No children, no yelling, no cleaning freak. Tony was always in his workshop and the place felt like a second home to her. Even that was wrong and inappropriate.

He was already starting to argue, even raising his hands to add more strength to what he was saying when her phone rang. She shushed him with her finger and picked up. It was the fire experts.

"Hi Ms. Potts, it's Keith Calaway from the FED. We finished the analyses on your house and we discovered a fair amount of gas on the walls and floors." She was dumbstruck. Her brain quickly made the math and the conclusion dawned on her but she had to ask, to hear it from them.

"Wha… What does it mean?"

"It means the fire was criminal. Someone threw gas on your walls and lit the fire, probably with a match. The report is ready for you if you want to take it to the police."

"Hum… Okay, thank you. I'll… I'll stop by later. Good-bye." When she hung up she had no tears in her eyes but she felt like her legs would just let go of her if she wasn't already sitting.

"What is it?" came Tony's voice.

* * *

"I hate to say that, but he's right you know…" Regina sipped on her cup of coffee. The four of them were sitting under Aubrey's porch, almost facing the dark mess that was Pepper's house. She could not take her eyes away from it. After getting the experts papers she had to go through them and Regina was the only person she knew that would get all that formal stuff. She worked at the mayor's office and was pretty good with administrative papers. Pepper was too, but right now she was too shocked to make sense of anything.

"A hotel is the worst idea, you would be all alone there." Aubrey's had always been the voice of reason in this little group.

"That's what he said too." Pepper whispered, thinking back to her earlier conversation with Tony, after the phone call.

"And let's face it, if you stay with one of us, you're as good as dead." All heads turned towards Vicky. That one had a severe lack of tact. She lowered her mug when she saw the horrified looks on her friends' faces. "Sorry, but Anton can't fight, he'd be too worried to crumple his suit and Oliver is a doctor! He heals people, he doesn't punch them. And Regina, as frightening as she may be, is still a single mom…" Tactless yes, but she was lucid.

"Oliver knows better that to just punch people. We are not savages." Aubrey retorted and Regina and Vicky rolled their eyes.

"This still seems like a terrible idea." She had no other option. Someone purposely put her house on fire, she could have been in there, she could have died and everyone around her feared for her safety. This seemed too unrealistic to Pepper, the only question coming to her mind was 'why?'. Why would somebody do that?

"It is a terrible idea." Pepper looked at Regina. "But as much as I would like to disagree with the guy, his stupid electronic villa is the safest place for you."

"I just feel like we're all overstating that… I mean I wasn't even in there, I didn't get hurt, maybe it was just a sick joke and not someone wanting to actually hurt me!"

"Are you crazy or just stupid?"

"Regina!" But Regina didn't care about Aubrey's reproving tone and went on.

"Your house was splashed with gasoline by some twisted guy and then put on fire. That's not a Halloween trick coming back at you! Open your eyes Pepper." The strawberry blonde stayed quiet, fully getting her friend message. Regina was right, harsh but completely right. Tony would like her right now, she was still not his biggest fan and she was hating the idea of Pepper staying with him but she was pushing her to stay at the villa. Tony had used the criminal fire to have her stay with him, he had said it was safer and she could not possibly think to be on her own after that. He insisted that she needed to stay with him so he could protect her in case something happened. She thought it was just him manipulating her to stay or just wanting to show that Iron Man was indispensable. But as soon as she told her friends everything, they had the exact same speech, as if they all rehearsed together.

"And that way you can still show off in my blue nightie!" Vicky quipped, getting Pepper out of her daydream.

"No way. It's in the bag, you're getting it back."

"Come on! I'm sure you would have been able to make him do anything in that! He would have drooled all over his marble tiles.

"First, the villa has no marble tiles. And second, no, I wouldn't have. You, certainly. Not me." The three women frowned and Pepper felt she had to explain what she meant. "He asked about Vicky last night."

"And?"

"Tony never asks about anyone without something in mind."

"What did he ask?" Regina inquired.

"He just said he felt like he saw her before and when I told him she used to be a model he remembered and asked why she stopped."

"And that's all?" Pepper nodded and Vicky laughed.

"Seriously, that's harmless you know."

"What I know is that he never asked question about anyone and…"

"Did he ask about them?" Vicky cut Pepper, nodding toward Regina and Aubrey.

"Yeah, just a few basics like Aubrey's accent and Regina's origins but…"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there Pepper." Vicky took her hands with a sympathetic smile. "You know you can trust me on this 'cause I know men, I've met and dealt with a great number. Don't listen to Aubrey's fairytales stories or Regina because this one is like a human praying mantis." Both of them ignored Aubrey's outraged interpellation and Regina's grunt. "Your boss is certainly not in to me because he is too busy ogling you." Pepper couldn't help the laugh that escaped her throat.

"Yeah, right!" she giggled.

"Seriously! I know how guys look at women! Oliver is just drowning in love when he looks at Aubrey, with Anton it's passion and Regina's gardener is looking at her like he wants to do her on the lawnmower…"

"What!" It's was Regina's turn to be outraged.

"Oh please, we all know you're sleeping with your gardener! The point is, I know what I'm talking about. Tony looked at me the same way he looked at Regina and Aubrey and it's completely different from the way he looks at you."

"You know you only saw him once, right?"

"Yeah, I'm that good." And that thought confused Pepper even more and convinced her that staying with her boss was the worst idea.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author notes :**

Thank you all for the reviews/follow and favorites! I'm so glad to see you're keeping up and enjoying this!

I'm sorry it took me so long to write this down, but last week was really busy at work. I made this chapter a bit longer to have myself forgiven! Hope you'll enjoy it!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything Marvel related. This is for my own (and yours I hope) entertainement only)

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

Despite the fact that she hated to stay at the Stark mansion and feared what would happen there, Pepper had no other choice. Her friends had decided to revoke their invitations, out of friendship and protection they said, and the hotels were suddenly full as soon as she gave them her name. She didn't think that he would actually buy off hotels, she was wondering how he did it but wasn't really sure she wanted to know after all. So she went back there and drowned herself in her work and on her house to avoid any distractions. Vicky had seriously messed with her head and Pepper could not help but wonder if what her friend saw in Tony's eyes was the truth. She couldn't check for herself, she was trying hard to busy herself and avoid any contacts with him except for the professional stuff. She knew she couldn't look at him in the eyes, she couldn't take to chance to face what she had seen the night of the benefit. She remembered all the desire that was in his darks pupils that night. That had gotten her to act like a complete fool, follow her heart and silence her reason just because that man was looking at her in that way. His gaze was dangerous and she just averted it expertly. She was somehow proud of herself and when the week end came she had already done a good amount of research on that expo he was still planning on doing and had made a deal with him. She had agreed to stay with him on the condition that he will behave and focus on the expo. She had added that she will be gone at the first sign of any funny business. He had tried to know what she meant by funny business but she has just ignored his request which had led him to make his own demand, no work on Saturdays and Sundays. She had argued but eventually agreed and they had both shook hands to seal the deal.

"You know, I think it's the first time the four of us enjoy a Saturday shopping spree!" Vicky chirped, looking up from the evening gowns rail in front of her.

"It's the first time Regina and Pepper are not working on a Saturday." Aubrey added.

"Excuse us for not being a devoted housewife or a spoiled ex model. Some people got to actually work to earn money and not just marry someone who has some." Regina was working as hard as Pepper, that was why the two of them got along so well despite their apparent differences. Pepper was sweet, caring and kind, and Regina was judgmental, caustic and manipulative. At first, Pepper was the only one able to put up with Regina's temper, Aubrey would later say that she had some kind of a gift, being able to deal with impossible people like Regina or Tony. That always made her smile.

"No Vicky, I don't need an expensive evening gown." Pepper pointed out, nodding towards the dress that Vicky was handing.

"You always need an evening gown, your blue backless one is gone." The small brunette replied fiercely. As an ex-model, she always thought she knew better than everyone when it came to clothes. Pepper sighed and just took it from her to try it on, remembering the last time Vicky had insisted on an evening dress. It had been the blue one. Pepper wasn't sure about the back or the absence of it but at the end it was perfect and it had led to that moment on the roof with Tony.

"Pep!"

"Hum, what?" she snapped out of her reverie to face Regina who was holding a white shirt and black pencil skirt.

"I would totally wear that to work so I guess that you would too."

"Yes. That's perfect." Since she had made a deal not to work on Saturdays she had decided not to waste her time and to go refurnished her wardrobe. The girls had eagerly accepted to help her with that and they spent their afternoon going from store to store, trying to find the best work suits, casual dressing and nightwear.

* * *

Tony, on the other hand was no part in the shopping process even if he would have loved to see Pepper modeled every piece of clothing she found. He tried to get invited, pointing out he would be useful as a judge with his usual smirk, but Pepper only rolled her eyes at him, not taking part in the banter, and left. He found himself in no mood to work on his suit, robots or even his hot rod, everything seemed boring to him and he decided that staying at the house was out of the question.

"So, when will her house be finished?" James Rhodes asked, lowering his second beer. Rhodey was always so easily convinced to go and grab a drink

"Couple of months." Tony replied nonchalantly. But deep inside, this deadline was killing him, he knew Pepper would be out as soon as her house would be ready for her even if there was no paint on the walls. He didn't want her out of his house, he enjoyed her presence in his big mansion, even if she was so careful not be in his way and to remain as invisible as possible. The thing was, Pepper was never invisible.

"That sucks… Poor Pepper." Rhodey sighed with sadness in his voice which instantly caught Tony's attention.

"You think living at my house is so dreadful, uh?" Rhodey's confused eyes left his beer to focus on Tony as he went on "You know I don't drink anymore…" Both of them looked down at the beer bottle between Tony's hands and Rhodey frowned skeptically, yet amused. "Well, almost… And I let Frances clean the house without howling at her, so that's a very healthy environment."

"Yeah, sure." Rhodey didn't appear too convinced.

"Come on, I have a sauna, a gym, flat screens which are integrated to my windows, a pool…"

"Yeah, I know your house. Been there a couple of times."

"So you know that my house is perfect and living there is like a dream!"

"I was more concerned about the owner, rather than the house…" Rhodey started

"Shut up, I'm a changed man, we settled that."

"I didn't settle anything"

"But you agreed."

"I didn't."

"You don't think I'm a changed man?" Tony tried to sound hurt and his voice ended up being quite high pitched which made Rhodey chuckle. "No seriously, you really think this situation is awful to her?" Tony asked after a few moments, suddenly serious.

"You know, when I said 'Poor Pepper' I meant the arson." Both of them took a sip from their beers. Tony was thinking about living conditions with him as a roommate and what Pepper felt about it and Rhodey was wondering why his friend was suddenly so deep in thoughts. As he laid his beer on the wooden table of the bar, Rhodey saw Tony tensed, he followed his gaze as he was looking outside through the window to a group of girls. He saw her when one of them moved a bit to her right, Pepper. He was about to say something like 'Hey, look that's Pepper' when he noticed Tony's attitude.

He had spotted her strawberry blonde hair before he even saw her, the wind was playing with her free hair and she was tucking a few strands behind her ear. His body tensed and he couldn't keep his eyes of her. She was smiling, laughing with her friends, wearing a light blue blouse with a pair of white shorts. Casual clothing he never got to see her into. Her long legs looked incredible in those shorts, and this light blue was so becoming on her fair skin. The fabric hugged her breast perfectly. Her breast. For half a second he let himself staring at that part, wishing her cleavage was more plunging, but then he looked at her whole. Light colors looked good on her and she was always wearing dark ones to work. As he looked at her he felt like he was seeing her for the first time all over again. He had had that same impression the night of the Firemen's Benefit, it had constricted his chest and now he felt exactly the same thing. Something constricting in his chest, like his breath had been taken away. Yeah, that was it, she was breathtaking, and when she disappeared from his sight, having passed by the windows of the bar he just couldn't stop looking at that spot where he lost her.

"…Ny… Tony… Hey man, come back to me." Rhodey had to shake his shoulder to get his attention back. "Okay, that was weird." He added as he looked at Tony who was trying to act as normal as possible by drinking his beer.

"What was?"

"You. The way you stared at Pepper as she passed by."

"I didn't stare."

"You did."

"I didn't." he said firmly "I just looked."

"Persistently."

"Whatever." Tony sighed.

"Is there… something… anything I should know about?" The two men exchange a look and when Tony's eyes went down as he shrugged casually to convince his friend that nothing was wrong, Rhodey was able to read between the lines.

"Damn! You like her…" he whispered, the revelation hitting him as hard as Tony.

"I don't know… Maybe… It's weird, I'm not used to that, I don't know what this is so stop harassing me." Tony rambled. His hand went to his face as he rubbed it, trying to clear his head and put his ideas and feelings in order.

"Have you tried, in the last few days, to get her into your bed?" Rhodey asked out of the blue and Tony dropped his hand on the table.

"What? No!" he exclaimed. "Not that I wouldn't want to but…"

"But you respect her too much for that." Rhodey finished for him. Tony was not going to put it this way, but it summarizes things he guessed and he just nodded. Even if…

"I spied on her…" Rhodey's eyes went round and Tony quickly explained the blue nighty episode.

"Oh man! You're just… You can't do that!"

"Come on, after hearing the phone call who wouldn't want to see it…" Tony tried to explain.

"Still. She would kill you if she knew that." Tony thought about it for a second. Rhodey was right, Pepper would probably be furious with him if she knew that, she would leave his house and maybe his enterprise for good. "At least, you stopped it before it was too late."

"See! Changed man!" Tony exclaimed, obviously proud of his own restrain.

"Anyway, seems to me you really like her."

"I guess I do."

"I'm sure you do. She's been the only stable woman in your life for what? Ten years? She's everything that you're not and she's the only one who can put up with you. And everyone has a crush on Pepper, the woman is a saint." This word suited her perfectly but what came before that made Tony cringed.

"What do you mean everyone has a crush on Pepper?"

"Well you know, she's nice and smart and beautiful, a lot of people like her." Rhodey just shrugged.

"There's a difference between liking someone and having a crush."

"Is there? So where do you think you are? Liking her or having a crush?" Rhodey played along, he just didn't know how serious Tony was at this moment.

"This is not about me, do you have a crush on Pepper?"

"What? No!" At this moment, Rhodey realized what he had in front of him, it looked like a jealous Tony. Weird sight.

"But you said everyone has a crush on her."

"Well, not me."

"Good."

"Man…" Rhodey sighed, "You're so in to her, you have no idea."

Later that day, Tony would blackmail Rhodey into spending the evening with him and Pepper because he felt like he couldn't handle her legs in that white short she was still wearing when he got home. It was nothing compared to the next day.

* * *

She had tried not to open her laptop or check her business phone. This task went on pretty smoothly on Saturday when she was busy, but Sunday was another day. Pepper always hated Sundays. She would woke up early since she did everyone other day and she was used to it, she would clean the house, do some laundry and then, nothing. She had nothing left to do so she would just try to busy herself with a book, visit her friends but at the end of the day she would always end up with her laptop and Tony's agenda. Here, at the mansion, it was worse. No cleaning, no books, no friends to visit. So, after lying in bed for half an hour she got up, took a cold shower since the day was already hot, put on a floral flowy flutter sleeve tunic and settled in the living room with some coffee and her laptop. It was only 8.30 am, she had time to check a few things up before Tony got up. It was always hard to get him to rest or go to bed, he could spend 48 hours without sleeping or napping, but when he was sleeping he was never up before 9.30 or 10 am. Thus, when he came out from the hallway leading to the gym ten minutes later, all sweaty with a towel around his shoulders, she couldn't hide her surprise as she stayed there, frozen, sitting cross-legged on the couch with the laptop resting on her thighs as if she was a child being caught with the hand in the cookie jar.

"What are you doing?" he asked with suspicion in his voice. Pepper never lied, except when she had to cover her bosses' ass but when she opened her mouth, it just came out without warning.

"Just watching a movie…" her tone was so casual, she was amazed by her lying abilities at this moment. She always thought she was the worse liar, so she decided to change the subject as soon as possible. She closed the laptop as she added "You're up early." First attempt.

"What movie?" he hadn't move from his spot, still eyeing her skeptically. She knew he wasn't buying her act but she went on with it.

"Just some old movie Regina lent me…" she shrugged as she put the laptop on the couch and got up. "Do you want some breakfast?" Second attempt. He moved to follow her towards the kitchen counter and she heard him cough in his dark green drink he was always taking when exercising.

"What didn't you watch it on the big screen?" he moved his head towards the window where she knew the screen was. He was trapping her in a corner, like a little mouse. She turned towards him, ready to say that she didn't want the sound to wake him up since she thought he was asleep, and his head jerked up from her legs and his eyes met hers. What she saw there confirmed a few things. First, she was pretty sure he was ogling her bare legs or her ass or maybe both a few seconds ago because she could see all the desire in his brown eyes. She shouldn't have put on this tunic, it was short, really short. But the day was hot and right now it felt even hotter. And second, she was at loss of words. His stare was so intense she completely lost herself in it. That was why she refused to look at him in the eyes before, she knew she would melt. Her mouth was half-opened but no sound came out of it as she was watching him. Sweat was still dripping along his face and that made him even more desirable to her, she dropped her eyes to her hands and the coffee she was holding to avoid anymore inappropriate thoughts about her boss.

"You know, I thought we had a deal." Tony started again. His voice was steady, far from what she could say about her own. It was as if this moment didn't happen to him when Pepper was completely overwhelmed. She mentally kicked herself, there was no moment, she had to stop thinking her boss was ogling her when he obviously did that with every women. His calm demeanor was the living proof she didn't have the same effect on him he had on her. She laid down his coffee on the counter and busied herself by the sink, trying to calm her nerves the best she could as he finished his sentence. "But since you're not playing by the rules maybe I should reconsider that funny business thing…" his tone was sultry and it sent shivers down her spine. What was he trying to do? Had he noticed her turmoil? Was he playing with her? She had to get a grip on herself and she turned, feigning calmness.

"What do you mean 'not playing by the rules'?" she crossed her arms in front of her. Now that there was some space between them she felt stronger. He answered by looking at her computer. "I told you, just a movie."

"Which has no name…"

"Out Of Africa." That was the first that came into her mind. She remembered seeing it on Aubrey's shelves.

"Oh, Robert Redford fan, uh?"

"It's Aubrey's favorite. She lent it to me and since my boss gave me a day off I can finally watch it." She explained with confidence in her voice. She was getting better at this lying thing.

"Thought it was Regina who lent it to you?" He raised his eyebrows and had this look on his face. He had cornered her. She was definitely a terrible liar. "I guess you won't mind if I take a look…" he said as he moved towards the couch, where the computer was lying.

"Tony…" Pepper warned. She left the kitchen and got her hands on her laptop at the same moment he did. They were both standing face to face, each holding one side of the small machine. He was grinning from ear to ear as she tried to get her PC from his hands. "Ok, I lied. Now drop it, please."

"What, you think I'm gonna throw it through the window?" She hadn't think about that, but she knew he could do it just to annoy her. Getting her a new computer would be like buying toothpaste for Tony Stark. "Come on Pep, my whole expo's on that thing. Right?"

"Actually I stored it on my external drive and your private server just in case, but…"

"Great, so it can go through the window!" Tony exclaimed as he pulled the computer and Pepper towards him. The surprise and Tony's strength had her let go of her grip on the small laptop and Tony's left arm secure it behind his back as Pepper was already trying to get it back. He threw the machine on the cushions behind him and grabbed her hands before she could go get it. And then, she was lost again. His soft touch startled her and her blue eyes met his chocolate ones. Desire was still there, but there was something else, something like a deep tenderness mixed with wonder. He had never looked at her this way before. She was pretty sure he had never looked at anyone this way in the last ten years she's been with him. She was losing feet and she barely noticed his hands leaving her wrists until she felt one on her waist and the other leaving butterfly touches along her arm. The hand on her waist pulled her closer to him and her own hands came into contact with his soaked shirt and pectoral muscles. She couldn't move, she could only stare into his brown eyes as their breathings were becoming heavier. Her whole body was pressed against his own, his hand making sure she wouldn't go away. A part of her was satisfied to feel the hard effect she had on him, it was reassuring after thinking a few minutes ago that he didn't feel anything when she was so confused. Right now, she wasn't anymore. She knew what she was feeling and what she wanted. His hand was gently caressing her arm, slowly going up, she wanted to feel it on her shoulder, on her neck, on her face. She wanted Tony's sensual lips on her owns and then on her neck, on her shoulder. He must have read that on her face because he started to lean towards her, closing his eyes. She closed hers too and felt his warm breath getting nearer and nearer, his scent was intoxicating. Just as his lips were about to meet hers, her phone rang, destroying the moment as she started with shock, pushing him with her two hands and turning away from him.

"Oh god…" she whispered as her hand went through her hair, completely terrified to think about what could have happened if her phone hadn't rung. She heard Tony sighed loudly behind her. "Hi Regina!" she said, picking up with her usual jovial tone. She was maybe not a good liar, but she was good at getting her emotions in control, even if what happened a few moments ago was not a very good example of that. She was still showing her back to Tony but felt him move. Afraid of what might happen if he put his hands on her again, surely she would melt, she quickly peaked at him to see he was turning around with one hand going through his hair in an exasperating manner. "Oh yeah! Yeah, great idea, I'd love to. I'm on my way, see you soon." When she hung up and silence fell around them she was unable to turn around and face him for a while. Everything was blank, blurry. She always had principles she lived by, one of them being no sleeping with the boss. Of course it didn't go that far but she couldn't help but think that it may have ended up that way without Regina's call.

"Pepper…" he whispered behind her. He was close, too close and that got her out of her reverie. She started again and talked before he could say anything else.

"I have to go." Without turning around or looking at him she got away from his space, heading towards her room. His strong voice stopped her, but that's the disappointment she heard in it that made her look at him.

"Are you coming back… later?" He looked as lost as her, disappointed yes, but in a way that was much more than not getting what he wanted. It was not the same disappointment that he had when she was denying him some play time with his hot rod to discuss meetings. He seemed anxious about her answer and she just wanted to run toward him and kiss him.

"Yeah." She said with a small smile, the best she could give in her state. His face lit up a bit. "Danny just wants to show me his model of Stark Industries."

"Oh, he did a miniature version of Stark Industries?" he asked and she nodded. "I'd like to see that." And her smile disappeared. He noticed because the light in his face disappeared too.

"I… I don't think that's a good idea, Tony." She needed air, she needed to be away from him, she needed Regina caustic comments to clear her head.

"Okay." He just nodded, disappointment filling his beautiful features once again. Pepper didn't have the strength to look at him more so she forced another small smile on her face and just left, her heart still pounding in her chest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author notes :**

Thanks again for all the reviews, follow and favorites! You guys are the best! Some of you asked for a nice and sweet Tony, so here it is (kinda... Because before being nice, he has to be a jerk, otherwise it's not fun :p )

And sorry about the puerto rican mistake. I'll correct it. Thanks for pointing it out ;)

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything Marvel related. This is for my own (and yours I hope) entertainement only)

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

He waited the whole day for her to come home. He was anxious and Tony Stark was never anxious. He was always so sure of himself, he never doubted. Well, except after Afghanistan when he had his eyes opened on what he was leaving behind with all those super weapons he created. But then doubt left him and he knew he was on the right path with his company and Ironman. And he started to doubt himself again that Sunday when he realized that maybe he had pushed her too far and he felt bad about it. That was when he began to understand that Rhodey was right. He used to think that maybe he liked Pepper, maybe he had a crush on her since, according to his best pal, everyone had one, but he never thought seriously about it. He always found her attractive but she had made a line of conduct to ignore his banter. He was letting go of it, she didn't want him to seduce her, she had made it pretty clear after the benefit and he was not the type of guy to wait around and be the perfect boyfriend. He was hook-up or one-night stand material, not boyfriend. And Pepper, she deserved more than what he could offer her, for sure. Everything was starting to change, now. Every time he was looking at her or was near her, he was breathless, she had that weird effect of him. When she had got up from the couch a few hours earlier, those long bare legs of hers caught his eyes and he nearly choked on his drink. He was starting to think that she knew the effect her bare skin had on him and that she was doing all that on purpose. He had been completely bewitched by her and he couldn't take his eyes of her body, wishing his hands could roam down those beautiful legs. Tension was building up inside him and when he had pulled her against him he thought he was going to literally explode. They had a moment, he was sure of that, sure she felt the same way, he had seen it in her eyes before the damn phone destroyed everything. He had been waiting for a sign from her to know if she felt the same way, now he knew she did. And he was pretty sure Rhodey was right when he had said that Tony had no idea how into her he was. He was figuring it all out while waiting for her to come back. He wasn't really good at discussing things but he felt like they needed to talk. He liked her, maybe more than like, he needed her, he was quite accustomed to having her here, her presence was comforting and he was afraid that, if he pushed her too far, she might leave. A look at his watch told him it was already 2 pm. She had left at 9 or 9.30. He was pondering texting or calling her but decided against it, he couldn't push, he was ready to give her time and space. He chuckled a bit when an image of him as a boyfriend popped into his mind. He realized that this idea was starting to build itself in his brain. He wanted her, not only in his bed, not only for a night because he needed her, she was such an amazing woman who had always taken such good care of him. She completed him, and he wanted to be with her, to be a man that would deserve her. Another look at his watch, 3 pm. What was she doing? Sure, she probably wanted space and time but they didn't have that much time, he knew that as soon as she would be out of his house everything would go back to normal. So, he picked up his phone but not to call her.

When she came back it was almost 8 pm. Tony had spent the entire day waiting for her, pacing in the house, trying to tinker his hot rod to spend time. She was avoiding him and he only knew she was back because Jarvis informed him. He fought the urge to run up the stairs to go see her and talk to her, eventually she would come downstairs to check up on him and bring some dinner. So he waited again, busying himself on his hot rod so she wouldn't notice he had been waiting for her all day. He was trying to appear casually busy but he felt like a stupid excited teenager. He waited, but she never came down.

* * *

"…ake up… Come on Tony, wake up…" Her voice was so soft yet urgent and he groaned as he tried to roll onto his other side, he couldn't. He realized he had fallen asleep on his chair, his face lying on the desk. His whole body hurt from the bad sleeping position. He opened his eyes to see Pepper standing in front of him in her usual business attire, black dress, ponytail, notepad in hand and steaming coffee. He raised his head and supported himself with his elbows on the table, not completely awoken yet. He stretched out his hand towards her and she gave him the coffee, knowing perfectly what he wanted without the need to ask. That was one of the reasons why she was perfect.

"What time is it?" he asked despite the fact he still wore his watch.

"9 am. You need to get ready, we have to be at the office in an hour."

"Why?" he grunted, he wasn't in a really good mood, especially for work.

"We have the big meeting concerning the expo with everyone from budget, marketing, commu…"

"I'm not going. Deal with it." He cut her sharply before taking a long sip of coffee. He wasn't a very patient man and he had waited for her the entire day and evening. He was mad, and sleepy. She didn't say a word. He was expecting her to go all PA-like at him, to start commanding him but she didn't. It appeared she was a bit stunned by his sharp tone.

"Tony," she started with a small voice. "We talked about this on Thursday and it took me all day Friday to pull this off…" he wanted to throw at her that he waited all Sunday but didn't and completely ignored her as he began to tackle his computer screen. "You said today at 10 am was great."

"Did I? Don't remember." He wasn't making any effort and wasn't even looking at her. He knew she would be able to change his mind if he did.

"Tony, please. I'm just asking you this one and then you can stay in here all week if you want." She tried again.

"Not interested. Could you go now? I'm busy."

* * *

Maybe acting like a total asshole wasn't the best way for him to show her he cared. He was mad when he woke up, but when she left his workshop she was mad too and he was starting to question his choice of strategy. He was used of having what or who he wanted when he wanted and when he didn't see her coming down the stairs the previous night he got seriously angry, even if he had no right to. And then he had talked to her like shit this morning. He felt bad.

"Didn't you have a meeting this morning?" Frances asked when she arrived around 9.30 in the morning.

"Yes, didn't want to go, no need for a lecture, go clean somewhere else." He replied with the same annoyed tone he had used on Pepper.

"Watch your tongue young man." Frances said as she shook her apron as a warning. She was the only one, with Pepper, to scold him. He liked her honesty and the fact she wasn't afraid to tell him when he was being a jerk, but he knew perfectly well he was being one right now and he didn't need a reminder.

He was tinkering his suit when his phone rang, he guessed it was Pepper calling in to tell him what happen at the meeting. He was surprised to hear Happy on the other end of the line.

"What is it?" he asked his driver.

"Thought you might wanna know that things are going down here…" he answered in a low voice.

"Why are you whispering? What do you mean going down?" He checked his watch to see it was only ten. "Is Pepper in the meeting?"

"Yeah, the one you were supposed to lead." Happy's whisper was holding some kind of rebuke.

"Oh don't start with that you too!"

"Boss!" the driver hissed.

"Stop whispering! Why are you whispering?"

"Because the door is opened and they're all screaming!" his voice came out a little louder.

"What? Why?" Tony was surprised. Usually, when they were screaming, he was involved.

"Well, Pepper told them you were indisposed and could not attend the meeting and they all went nuts saying that it was a shame and Pepper tried to calm everyone down but one of them said that she was just a PA and that is wasn't her place and…"

"Hogan," Tony cut him, he had heard enough. "Hold on the fort, I'm on my way."

He was maybe a gigantic idiot, full of himself and allergic to any kind of responsibilities but Pepper was off limits. When he arrived at Stark Industries 15 minutes later, Happy filled him in as they walked down the corridors. As soon as he entered the meeting room, silence fell. Pepper was stupefied to see him and he could see she was ill at ease, she was fidgeting with her pen.

"Thanks for stepping in, Pepper." He started as he went to stood next to her, he was pretty sure he noticed relief wash over her face and relax her tensed body. "Being Ironman and saving people from a fire doesn't go well with meetings." He lied with a smile, now addressing the twenty people in the room Pepper had to deal with. That calmed everyone down and the meeting started. Tony held up his positions on the expo, saying yes or no to the many suggestions of the participants. Two hours later, almost everything was settled and Tony endep up the meeting.

"Oh, by the way, Flanaghan?" The fifty year old man from marketing turned around as he was leaving the room. "You're fired." Tony said nonchalantly as he passed by, ironically putting a hand on the man shoulder with a smile. He heard gasps and whispers but exited the room without paying attention. He was the boss, he could fire anyone he wanted and this man was the one who had told Pepper she needed to stay at her place. Tony didn't need or want that kind of people in his enterprise or around Pepper. As he went out he motioned to Happy, he wanted a burger. A few moments later, Pepper exited the room with that guy from Communication, the one with curly hair Tony despises. Without warning Tony went towards them, took Pepper's arm and got her away from the man she was talking to.

"You said this meeting and nothing else for the rest of the week. Let's go, I need a burger, I'm starving." Pepper forced a smile and got her arm out of his hand before they reached the glass doors of the entrance. She was stiff but she had smiled. Tony thought that probably meant she was not mad at him. If only…

"As proud as I am that you finally decided to show up at your own meeting…" her tone was biting, she was still mad. "I can't. I'm having lunch with Jeffrey, we need to discuss a few things."

"Jeffrey?" Tony choked out the name and Pepper turned her face toward the communication guy with curly hair and smiled. A gentle and sweet smile the curly haired guy returned. Tony was boiling up.

"Yes. Jeffrey Barnes from Communication. We need to do some press about the ex…"

"I don't like this one," Tony cut her, "Where is the old one? The one with grey hair who said I was eccentric, I like this guy." He remembered the meeting they were into when Pepper learned the tragic news about her house. He couldn't remember the old man name but he had liked his bluntness.

"Georges Murphy? He's retiring. Jeffrey Barnes is taking his place. Now, go have your burger and I'll talk to you later with news." And with that she was gone, walking towards that Jeffrey guy with a radiant smile that he returned too eagerly. He watched as Barnes got out of the way to let Pepper exit the building first, like a proper gentleman, even putting his hand on the small of her back. This was Tony's undoing and her remembered Rhodey's words: "Everybody has a crush on Pepper". He knew guys, he was one of them. Rhodey didn't have a crush on Pepper, but this curly haired guy wanted to get her in his bed, he was sure of that.

"Cancel the burgers. I have a business lunch." Tony said as Happy was opening the car door for him.

* * *

"What was that?" Pepper asked bluntly as soon as they separated from Barnes an hour and a half later.

"What?" As usual, he pretended ignorance.

"All that." her tone was sharp, she was still mad even if she had put up a good face in front of everyone. After ten years, she was starting to get tired of his mood swings. Happy was waiting with the car a few feets away and Pepper stopped dead in her tracks, forcing Tony to stop as well and face her.

"Could you be more precise?" he cringed when she sighed with exasperation. He was trying to buy some time, like all of this was still a game to him.

"The meeting, you firing Flanaghan, the lunch with Barnes…" she reminded him.

"Oh yeah… Well, I was in the neighborhood and you kinda needed the help back there…" he started nonchalantly only to receive one of her darkest glare.

"How kind of you." Irony was obvious behind her words. "But I thought this meeting wasn't important enough for you to deign attending it. There was no need to lose your precious time to be the knight in shining armor". She snapped and when he raised his head, Pepper read his mind. He was ready to reply something witty about his Ironman suit and the shining armor. "Don't even start with that!" she added before he could open his mouth.

"Okay, fair enough." He admitted a few moments later. Silence had settled between them and he guessed it would probably make it better if he could apologize. The problem was that Tony never apologized, he didn't know how to start. "I was tired, I didn't sleep well on that table…" he started and saw in her eyes she was not convinced and that those explanations were not going to be enough. She crossed her arms and waited for the rest, her gaze was intense and accusatory, it was too much for him. "Okay, I was an ass, sorry about that." He got out as quickly as possible without looking at her. Surprise was washing over Pepper as she processed the word he just said, she was taken aback and couldn't say anything for a few seconds. Tony never apologized to her or anyone actually. This was a first and that was easy. Could this be related to what happened, or almost happened the previous day? She brushed this idea away as soon as it hit her, she couldn't not think about that right now, she had to stay focused.

"Good. And Flanaghan?"

"Never liked him…" Tony declared and when Pepper sighed he decided to go on. "And… he had inappropriate words and wasn't really on board with my idea. So…" He put his hands in his pockets as he looked around, anywhere but her face, because right now she was figuring something out.

"What do you mean inappropriate words?" she asked and it hit her as soon as her words were out. Flanaghan was an ass-kisser. He would never say any inappropriate thing to him and he was backing him up during the whole meeting. The only moment he was a jerk was when he told her she was just a secretary and that it was not her place and all that came after that. Realization washed on her face. "Oh no. You didn't…" she couldn't end her sentence and when she saw how Tony was avoiding her eyes she knew she was right. "Tony! You can't fire people just because they… say things when they're mad."

"Yes, I can. And I did. After all these years you've been working with me and doing this, no one has the right to tell what your place is." He explained with a sharp tone and finally looked at her. Her face had softened, she was touched and had to refrain herself from hugging him. This day was becoming more and more surprising. It had started with him being a jerk, then appearing out of nowhere to a meeting she was sure he would not attend, getting to a business lunch, apologizing to her and then defending her by firing someone. She was starting to wonder if she had the real Tony Stark in front of her.

"That's very sweet of you." She finally thanked him with a sincere smile. "But unnecessary. Don't do that again, okay?" He nodded but she wasn't sure she could trust him on that. Nonetheless, she was so delighted by his act that she came to wonder if his appearance for lunch could have anything to do with that. "And what about lunch?" she asked before any weird idea of Tony being jealous made it to her mind.

"Well, this was about my expo! I have a right to know, I'm the face and the brain of it." And the narcissistic Tony was back again. Pepper rolled her eyes and went to the car.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author notes :**

Thanks again to everyone for the reviews, follow, favorites and the continued support.

Here's a new chapter, I hope you'll like it!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything Marvel related. This is for my own (and yours I hope) entertainement only)

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

Two weeks passed by in a hurry, Pepper was always busy between plans for the expo and the work progress at her house. The workers were absolutely infuriating with all the time they took. Pepper kept calling and visiting but she never saw any big progress. She kept avoiding any alone, non-work related moments with Tony and things were going smoothly. He wasn't pushing anything or trying to make her uncomfortable and he even paid a small interest to work and meetings. It had only been two weeks but Pepper felt like an intruder, an unwanted roommate in Tony's life, and she wanted her house to be finished as quickly as possible but those workers…

"You said you would be done with the roof two days ago…" the strawberry blonde reminded the site manager. She spoke in a calm tone, trying hard not to scream into the telephone. Frances put a steaming cup of tea on her desk and Pepper smiled faintly at the nice gesture.

"Do whatever you want but I want the roof fixed tonight!" she snapped before ending the call. Letting a loud sigh, she closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.

"They're not making any progress?" the older woman asked.

"No. They keep postponing stuff." Pepper took a sip from the cup of tea. "Thanks for the tea." Frances gave her a reassuring smile and started to head towards the door.

"Oh and I ironed your dress for tonight. It was a bit rumpled." Pepper turned her head towards the housekeeper, not understanding what she was saying.

"What dress?"

"The gold one. For tonight." Frances reminded her.

"Oh God…" She was so sure today was Friday. "We're Saturday? The art gallery opening…" No wonder the site manager seemed so pissed after her phone call, they didn't work on Saturdays. Her rooftop would not be fixed by tonight.

"I prepared Mr Stark's suit but you should probably remind him about tonight. He's been down there all day."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks Frances." Pepper checked her watch as the older woman was leaving. It was already 6 pm and the opening was at 9. She needed to start getting ready and most of all she needed to remind Tony. He always needed several reminders before actually leaving his work. It was like dealing with a kid playing with something, you needed to mentally prepare him to stop playing before he could do it. Tony really was a kid and when she entered the workshop to his blasting music, that idea sank deeper within her. It took her an hour and a half before he left his toys.

She had curled her hair and let the waves fall freely above her left shoulder with just a few pins to hold them in place. She remembered Vicky had told her she looked great with her hair down and curled and for that kind of high profile events, she always listened to Vicky. That's why she called her as soon as she knew she had to be present. Tony had just the right arguments to convince her like 'I don't know how to mingle', 'If I don't mingle I don't talk about business with people', 'You love to mingle and talk about business'. What helped her make her decision was knowing that Regina will also be attending. The mayor himself was going to make a speech and present the gallery and Regina was like his right hand. Pepper would not be the only assistant at the opening then, nothing weird about her presence. Vicky had helped her picked the dress after reminding her several times she had advised her to buy an evening gown the week before when they all went shopping. She had ruined herself with this dress but it was perfect. A long, strapless golden gown with gold pearls and flakes all over it which fitted closely and perfectly to her body. She felt like a princess as soon as she put it on the first time and she gave in to temptation despite the four numbers on the price tag. To make up for this expensive and compulsive purchase she had decided not to buy any shoes regardless of Vicky outraged remarks and do with her beige Louboutin stilettos which fit well with the dress.

"Tony! Happy's here, we're going to be late." She called to the ceiling as she waited, sitting on one of the armchairs. It took him ten more minutes to come down and she got up as soon as she heard him going down the stairs. "Finally…" she muttered, loud enough for him to hear. She was smoothing her dress when she noticed she wasn't hearing his steps on the stairs anymore. Raising her head to make sure he didn't bail on her again she found him looking at her, pinned down in the middle of the stairs. He didn't say anything but she knew, just by looking at him, what he was thinking. She blushed and lowered her eyes on the small clutch she was holding, checking her phone to busy herself.

"Come on, we're late." She started to walk to the door when his low voice rang out in the quiet place.

"Wait…" She stopped and feared about what was going to happen next when she heard his steps again. He was getting closer to her and her heart began pounding. She took a deep breath and turned around to face him. He was handing a gold pocket square to her, perfectly matching the color of her dress.

"Seriously?" she rolled her eyes and took it from him, busying herself with the task. "You know I'm not your date. You didn't have to match my dress."

"I didn't. I had this square for years. You're the one copying by wearing this amazing gold dress." He said plainly and she couldn't help but smile at the hidden compliment behind his words.

"So you chose this one without knowing I was wearing that color." She was now straightening his bow-tie and intent on not meeting his eyes.

"Absolutely."

"Right." She chuckled, unconvinced by his answer and taking a step back. "I'm serious Tony. We may be going together but you're alone, I'm not your date, I'm your assistant." She warned one last time.

"Does that mean I can hit on Regina just to annoy her?" He asked in a challenging tone. He was still not over the fact that her friend was not a fan of him and found a new interest in annoying her on the few times he saw her.

"If you want her to emasculate you, please do." Pepper replied with an amused smile as they were exiting the house. Happy was waiting by the car and motioned to open the door as soon as he spotted them.

"By the way, you look incredible." Tony whispered into her ear as he passed by her. His breath on her skin had her shivering. Happy gave him a stern look as he got into the car before her. "Not my date! No need to be a gentleman here." He grinned and both Happy and Pepper rolled their eyes.

* * *

They were right on time for the opening and Pepper started mingling as soon as they got there. She was really talented for that when his only talent at such events was finding the bar. She made an impression on everyone in her gold dress. As soon as they arrived on the red carpet before the gallery entrance, photographs were all about her even if she had insisted on not going in at his arm but behind him. It was the first time everyone momentarily forgot about Tony Stark and focused on the lady behind him. And as he turned around, he completely understood why she would steal the spotlight. She looked stunning and he couldn't help but take her hand after a few moments of her being harassed by those journalists. He didn't want to share her with them, even if she wasn't his date. However, as they got in, it was worse that the press. Every women invited were complimenting her while the husbands were eyeing her, it was driving him crazy and for the first time he tried to mingle just to take those men minds away from her. But he was terrible at it and gave up quickly, still keeping an eye on her however.

"Discretion, not your strongest point." came a voice next to him. He turned around to see Regina clad in a dark red dress. She nodded towards were Pepper was standing with the director of the financial department from Stark Industries.

"Not trying to be." He answered, his eyes going back to Pepper as he took a sip of whiskey.

"Well, you should. She wouldn't like to read in tomorrow's papers that her boss spent the night ogling her." Her tone was sharp and Tony took his eyes away from the strawberry blonde to focus them on the Puerto-Rican next to him.

"What is exactly your problem with me? Is it some kind of sexual frustration? Because… That could be arrange you know…" That came out by itself even if he wasn't really thinking it. That was just the way Tony coped with things, he didn't take anything seriously and just kept on bantering.

"Oh really? Wow, lucky me." She spat back, irony filling every words. "That's driving you crazy, isn't it? Someone not crawling at your feet…"

"No, not really. I'm just curious. I don't get how you could not like that." He motioned to himself with his hand. "You don't know what you're missing." He added with a cocky grin.

"Not much, certainly." She took a sip from her glass of champagne and looked towards Pepper again. He followed her gaze and then it hit him.

"Oh, I get it! You're gay, that makes sense. Single mom of an adopted child, group of girlfriends, not falling for my charm… yeah that's obvious!" Regina let out a laugh but all Tony could think about was that if she was in love with Pepper that would definitely complicate things.

"Now if a girl isn't in to you she has to be gay?" she questioned as she arched an eyebrow. Tony frowned and she continued. "Maybe I don't like you because she does. We never had the same taste in men."

"Obviously, since you don't like men." He was rewarded by a deathly glare from the brunette and had to refrain from chuckling.

"She's my best friend, Mr Stark." She emphasizes on his last name. "The way you look at her, I don't like it. And I don't like it when she comes to my house completely confused and shaken up because you almost kissed her in your living room." Tony stared blankly at her, Pepper had told her about that. She didn't talk to him about it but had to tell everything to that woman.

"About that, great timing for a phone call. Way to ruin everything." He replied ironically, unable to stop himself. And Regina smiled, a diabolical smile.

"Glad I did." She got closer to him, staring straight into his eyes as she continued her hidden threats. "She's not one of your numerous conquests. Don't play with her, don't take advantage on whatever she may feel for you. You're no good, Stark and you will never be what she deserves." Her words hit him as hard as if she had slapped him and he couldn't let out any smart reply. He was completely taken aback and Regina turned away without saying anything else. He just stood there, staring into space for what seems like hours, his drink still in his hand when he heard her soft voice. Pepper.

"Okay, what did she say?" He rose his head and look at her without really understanding what she meant.

"What?"

"Regina. What did she say to you? I can see she said something. And I know she can be bitchy sometimes." Quickly recovering from his disturbed state, he put on a cocky smile.

"Come on, she couldn't say anything to bother me. I, on the other hand…" he purposively left his sentence unfinished and Pepper looked at him, pressing him for the rest. "Well, I don't think she took quite well the fact I think she's gay…"

"What? Oh God!" Pepper sighed and Tony chuckled.

"I told you I don't know how to mingle."

"Speaking about that…" They went on talking about Pepper results at socializing with everyone, specifically from a business point of view. She had started to talk about the expo and everyone seemed to be excited by the idea. After a few minutes of business talk, Tony took her hand without warning.

"Come on, let's go see those artworks."

"Oh no, no…" She tried to resist and pull her hand away but his grip was firm and he didn't let her get away. It took a few moments before he was able to let go of her soft hand and he missed the contact as soon as he did. They wandered through the different alleys and commented on the art. Tony wasn't getting any of it, Pepper was the one with an artistic vision and she was explaining to him the meaning between each paintings or sculptures.

"I just see a leaves-less tree. Actually it's a bit eerie…" He finally said as they were admiring the last painting. Pepper let out a small laugh at his lack of imagination when it came to paintings and he just looked at her, at how radiant she was right now. "What do you see?"

"A metaphor for revival." He frowned and peaked at the painting again.

"With a tree?"

"Look." She pointed to a small green spot on the painting. "A new leaf. And it is called 'Spring' so it's easy to decipher."

"I would rather call it 'Winter'." She chuckled.

"That's because you lack imagination when it comes to art. This means something new can come from something old or dead. The tree looks dead but it's not, it's just changing, adjusting to something new." Her explanations were always clear as water and it all made sense, even this stupid tree. But Regina's words came back to his mind, was he still no good? A playboy? He thought he was changing, like this tree. That is new leaf, his purpose to right his wrongs and not waste his life was getting him to a better place, somewhere where he might be able to deserve to kiss Pepper without her regretting it or being upset by it. He wasn't playing, she wasn't one of the numerous others he had slept with. She was special, she was one of the new leaves.

"Do you think that can apply to people?" he asked, staring at the painting. His playful tone was gone and his face was suddenly serious. He felt her gaze on him but didn't turn towards her. "Do you think people can change, adjust to something new?"

"I think that as long as they want it, they can." Her voice was soft and when he looked at her, she had a gentle smile on her face, as if she knew he was asking her about his own doubts. She was shining in her dress, she looked like the sun, a sun he wanted to approach more than anything even if he could get burnt. Once again he remembered Regina's words, but this time it was what she said about Pepper. How she liked him, according the devil in a red dress, how she may feel something for him and he knew that he would not burn himself by getting closer to his sun. It would feel right, to him and probably to her. But that didn't mean he couldn't screw this up. He wanted to lean in, to kiss her, he even started to move when he saw the blonde woman coming towards them. After Regina, it was her. Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair. Those women seemed pretty intent on keeping him away from Pepper.

"Mr Stark." The journalist politely nodded towards him and turned her attention towards Pepper. "Ms Potts, wonderful dress. Christian Dior, right?" Pepper nodded and the two of them began chatting lightly despite the awkwardness of the situation. A few moments later Everhart was gone but the mayor was starting his speech. Another ruined moment.

* * *

Midnight was absolutely not the right time to leave. A storm was hitting Malibu and it was pouring rain outside. Of course after a heatwave like they had for the last couple of days, it was no surprise but no one was expecting it tonight and Happy didn't have an umbrella in the car. He parked as close as he could but Pepper was still soaked when they returned to the mansion. As she stood in the living room, taking in her gown status, it was ruined, she felt Tony's eyes on her. She turned towards him and he averted his eyes, taking off his jacket and bow-tie. He was as soaked as she was but his jacket had prevented his shirt to get wet. He had tried to give it to her when they exited the gallery but she had refused. This felt too personal, especially after everything that was going on. There was no way she could keep denying it after that almost kiss two weeks ago and that moment at the gallery. She could swear he was going to kiss her if that Christine Everhart hadn't showed up. It was wrong, yes, but she couldn't help those feelings from developing and it was scaring her. His eyes were on her again, she could feel it, he was eyeing her whole soaked body and she turned her back to him ready to head towards her bedroom to lock herself up and try and figure out what was going through her mind. At that moment a violent thunder clap rang, making the walls vibrate and cutting down the electricity. Pepper started and let out a small surprised cry.

"Don't worry, Jarvis is going to put the current back in a few seconds." He was just here, just behind her. His voice low and muffled as if he didn't want to scare her. Her heart was pulsing, blood rushing to her head. She was shivering and not only because she was wet from the rain. She felt his breath on the back of her neck and it gave her goosebumps, his left hand found her upper arm and his right one settled on her hip. She had no time to think about anything before her name rolled of his tongue like a pleading moan and then his lips were on her neck. She instantly closed her eyes as a small whimper escaped her mouth. He was leaving butterfly kisses along her neck, slowly going up towards her face and she leaned into him, giving him more access. When he arrived to her jaw, she felt his hands pressured her hips, prompting her to turn around and she did. Her hands settled on his broad shoulders as their lips finally met in a passionate kiss. It was better than anything she had imagined, warm, intense, it was like each of their lives were depending on that kiss. They were giving all of themselves and it felt right, so right and so good. Until Happy's voice.

"How long does it take for Jarvis to put the lights on again! It's pitch dark in here."

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_Yeah, I know, I'm cruel... :D_


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